The First Digital Bank (FDB) announced on Tuesday that it has raised USD 120 million from backers, including Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer, Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, and China-based tech firm Tencent. FDB is now valued at USD 320 million, according to its announcement.
Owned by tech entrepreneur Amnon Shashua, who also co-founded self-driving assistant developer Mobileye, the bank is currently operating in pilot mode and is set to be officially launched in early 2022.
Shashua has already made a USD 65 million seed investment into FDB and will remain its controlling shareholder.
FDB is a licensed digital bank that aims to “spearhead the autonomous banking transformation.” The bank uses proprietary AI tools and technologies to offer customers “a private banking service experience designed to support their everyday financial challenges—from cashflows to budgeting, credit, savings, investments, and more,” according to the company.
The bank will integrate human personnel with advanced artificial intelligence technologies to create customized service experiences for customers.
FDB was founded and led by Marius Nacht, who is a co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity startup Check Point Software. Nacht brought in Shashua as a partner in August 2018. In May 2020, Shashua became the sole controlling shareholder after buying out Nacht’s holding.
“Expressing the confidence of the world’s leading international players in the bank’s technology and vision will help accelerate our long-term strategic plans to change the face of banking. First in Israel, and later overseas,” Shashua said in a statement.
The article was originally published by NoCamels, a leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience.